SydneyNorg

Access 31 - snatching defeat from the jaws of vict

 

 

A generous 'rescue package' for the cash-challenged Access 31 was announced at the special members' meeting on the third of July and a claim that Senator Conroy's Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy had come through with a new programme and timetable - the Station was going digital and all its worries were over.

Two weeks later staff numbers have plummetted from twenty-two to about ten. Volunteer numbers have dropped so that the broadcast hours are down from 6am to midnight with all-night montage, to 10.30 am to 10.30 pm, no montage.

The July meeting was held to vote on Access31 embracing voluntary liquidation - all the fault of Government, or in the words of CEO Andrew Brine: “All free-to-airs except for community television were provided access to digital spectrum and significant Government funding to make their transition... after four solid years of lobbying Government for a digital future, Access31 and the sector are no closer to digital...”

A few minor problems like falling cash flows, a demand for $107,492 (rent for the transmitter site, surely not an item of fiscal surprise) were irrelevant.

Chairman Hendy Cowan continued the theme with his opening statement: “I'm very very pleased to report that the office of Senator Conroy has now developed a policy that sets a programme and a process and a timetable for the delivery of digital television services for community television and while I don't like brinkmanship....(our action in threatening voluntary liquidation was) the catalyst ....” Pleased surprise, and in my case outright disbelief.

But more good news was to come, a 'white knight', Mr Garry Baverstock, (here) had offered a financial handout of undisclosed size with undisclosed conditions attached. The Board had accepted it, the Members now had the freedom to accept or reject it. Hendy Cowan, who runs a very tight meeting, gave members two seconds before announcing that since there was no discussion, we'd proceed to a vote.

I interrupted to ask for details of whatever it was we were voting on.

Chairman was not at liberty to say, after all the Board has accepted it, the implication being that older and wiser heads who know best have made a decision.

A Member asked how would Station management be changed so that we're not shepherded into a third liquidation crisis (the first was in 2003) The Chairman wouldn't allow discussion – surely the important thing was to get the Station up and running again. Some of us thought that perhaps the important thing was to get the Station up and running properly.

A third Member objected faintly to voting on a total unknown and we were shepherded to the vote. It was of course carried with a note made that there were four votes against accepting the offer.

Hours after the close of meeting, details of the Baverstock package which the Chairman of the Board was not at liberty to divulge to the voting Members, appeared on the Sunday Times website (here). A warm fuzzy from the ST may have helped to lessen the agony from an earlier piece about current Board member, Abdullah Magar's, little bit of trouble here.

Next morning, Mr Baverstock's $500,000 'contribution was reported in the 'West Australian' as an 'investment' (page 19)

From the 8^th of July, announcements of the born-again Station flooded Access 31's airwaves (here)

I searched the news services and Senator Conroy's Press Releases, and found no confirmation of the claim. I emailed Senator Conroy's office with a link to the Access31 announcement and a transcript of Hendy Cowan's opening speech at the third of July meeting, and asked for a copy of this revolutionary new policy.

On the 14^th of July a member of Senator Conroy's staff contacted me.. She expressed surprise at Hendy Cowan's claim that the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy has suddenly “developed a policy that sets a programme and a process and a timetable for the delivery of digital television services for community television”. She said that the policy is unchanged, that their Department will continue its current level of support and that community television will not be disadvantaged by the changeover from analogue in December, 2013.

Can Access31 be saved? At its current level of service, it's unlikely to attract sponsors or to keep the ones it's got. Timetables are unreliable and there's no notice of programme changes on the Access31 home page. It's very easy to lose an audience, and very, very, very difficult to get it back.